Cleaning device



May 22, 1934- o. `s. T`YRRELL 1,959,9.40

CLEANING DEVICE Filed Dec. 27, 1952 INVENTOR.

@wn /f 5 A BY Ma/) .ATTORNEY.

Patented May 22, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CLEANING DEVICEApplication December 27, 1932, Serial No. 648,876

1 Claim.

This invention relates to improvements in cleaning devices and isdirected more particularly to devices adapted for cleaning relativelysmall bores such as the valve guides of internal combustion engines andthe like. This application is a continuation in part of an applicationSerial No. 625,441, led by me July 28, 1932.

The principal objects of the invention are directed to the provision ofa tool arranged to rotate within and clean the bores of valve guides,and it has as a specialV feature a cleaning head composed of a pluralityof relatively flexible longitudinally extending cleaning elements. Theseelements are formed to have a plurality of angularly disposed cleaningor working edges so that a plurality of spaced cleaning or working edgesare provided for each element.

A special object of the invention is the provision of means foradjusting the overall size of the head so that it may be used eicientlyin the bores of .various sizes for the cleaning operation. According toanother object of the invention a exible shank is provided for the toolwhich is distinguished from the usual rigid shank. In this way when theshank is embraced and rotated by a chuck of an electric drill or thelike the cleaning head may be rotated on its true axis in the bore to becleaned, with the chuck held in a non-aligned position with respectthereto. This is so it will not be necessary to hold the drillaccurately and permits the driving of the tool where it is not possibleto have the chuck disposed on the true axis of the rotating tool.

Various novel features and advantages of the invention will be hereaftermore fully referred to in connection with the accompanying descriptionof the preferred form of the invention which for purposes of disclosureis shown in the accompanying drawing, wherein;

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view with parts in section showing a toolembodying the novel features of the invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged front elevational View of one of the cleaningelements of the tool.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is an elevational view showing a modified form of the inventionconsisting of a yieldable shank for the tool shown in Fig. l, and

Fig. 5 is a sectional view on the line 5 5 of Fig. 4.

Referring now to the drawing more in detail the invention will be fullydescribed.

The tool consists in general of a shank 2 which is adapted to beembraced in a rotating device such as the chuck of an electric drillorthe like and a cleaning head indicated generally by 4 at the upper endof the shank.

A base 6 is provided for'the head which yhas a center staff member 8extending upwardly therefrom. The center member 8 may be secured to thebase 6 in any suitable manner and it may be integral with the shank 2which may extend through the base, if desired. The upperv side of thebase is provided with a socket concentrically of member 8 so as toprovide an annular recess around said member as shown in Figs.y 1 and 3.

The upper end of the center 8 is slotted as at l0 yand a collar `or cap12 is slidable on the upper end of the center which carries a pin 14extending through the slot 10, although the cap may be movedlongitudinally of the center and held against rotation thereon. The cap12 on its under side is provided with a depression as shown to form inconjunction withA the member 8 an annularfrecess around said member 8like the recess in the base 6.V

A plurality of cleaning elements E which are preferably of spring-likematerial are off-set at their opposite ends to provide intermediate bodyportions 16 and end portions 18. These elements are preferably square incross section and as shown in Fig. 3 are twisted intermediate their endsto provide a multiplicity of relatively sharp corner working edgesarranged spirally thereof. In this way there are provided a plurality ofangularly disposed working or cleaning edges 20 arranged in uniformlyspaced relation longitudinally of each element.

The working edges on each element are spaced apart and extend angularlywith reference to the length of the elements. This causes the edges tooperate with a shearing action as the tool is rotated, whereby theyclean a bore without injuring the surface thereof.

The annular recesses in the base and cap around the center 8 arearranged so that the ends of the cleaning elements therein abut oneanother and substantially ll up the recesses. That is, a sufcient numberof cleaning elements are employed so that their ends in the cap and basepractically ll up the recess wherefor the elements will not shift orassume an angular relation with respect to the axis of the tool. Theends of the elements are not fixed in the recesses to facilitate thefree exing of the main body portions thereof while of course theelements at the same time may be easily inserted in and removed from therecesses when the cap is moved away from the base a distance to permitof this.

With the ends of the elements seated in the recesses as described theintermediate twisted portions thereof are held parallel to the axis ofthe tool and a multiplicity of obliquely disposed and uniformly spacedrelatively short Working edges are presented along each element. As thetool is rotated in a valve guide bore the working edges of the elementsengage the bore with a shearing action and any slight axial impulsesproduced do not tend to screw or feed the tool axially of the guide toan objectionable extent. It is not desirable that the tool feed alongthe guide appreciably during rotation as would likely occur whererelatively few, long and more or less continuous working edges arepresented which would tend to act as a screw and cut a thread in or marthe guide.

One or more nuts such as 20 are in threaded engagement withV the upperend of the member 8 and are adapted to exert pressure on and hold thecap 12 so as to expand the elements between the cap and the base. Inthat way the overall diameter of the tool or its diameter over thecutting elements may .be varied whereby the tool may be made of varioussizes for working in bores of different diameters.

The overall diameter of the elements intermediate their ends is greaterthan the overall diameter at the ends thereof ,since they are offsetwherefor there may be some space between the elements intermediate theirends. In this way foreign matter removed from a bore will not becomejammed between the elements and interfere with their flexing.

By inserting rthe cleaning head l in a bore to be cleaned and byembracing the shank in the chuck of an electric drill or the like thetool may be rotated. With the multiplicity of working edges on eachelement and a large number of the elements, there are a large number ofseparate working edges which are brought into engagement with thesurface of the bore simultaneously whereby the most efficient cleaningaction is possible.

'I'he modification of the invention. shown in Fig. 4 will now bedescribed. In this case a base 30 is provided with which may beassociated the center, cleaning elements, cap and nuts alreadydescribed. The shank in this case consists of a flexible member 32 andthis element 32 or an end portion 34 fixed thereto as by welding orbrazing indicated at 35 may be engaged in a chuck of a drill or otherunit for rotating the tool.

The iiexible portion will preferably be formed by a closely wound coilspring of round wire as shown which has its end fixed in some suitablemanner to the base 30 as by welding or brazing indicated by 33.

In this form of the invention and with the shank embraced in the chuckof a drill, the tool may be rotated as in the former case. It is notnecessary and is sometimes impossible to hold the driving unit so thatthe axis of rotation thereof is directly in line with the axis of thetool since the shank may ex. This is advantageous in apparatus of thiskind to accommodate any disaligmnent of the chuck and tool. The exibleshank will readily flex to the desired degree and permit rotation of thetool without exerting sidewise pressure thereon in case the chuck andtoo-l are not in exact alignment.

Having described the invention in the form at present desired what it isdesired to claim and secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

A tool for cleaning valve guide bores comprising in combination, a base,a center staff extending upwardly therefrom, a cap on the upper end ofthe staff slidable towards and away from said base, the said cap andbase provided with recesses in adjacent faces thereof cooperating withsaid staff to form annular grooves opening towards one another, and aplurality of cleaning elements which are square in cross section andhave intermediate offset portions and opposite end portions, theOpposite end portions of each element being disposed in the same planeand in substantial parallelism with theaxis of the staff and beingnested in said grooves in abutting relation to substantially fill saidgrooves and prevent displacement of the elements, the said intermediateportions of the elements being offset outwardly from said end portionsthereof and disposed in substantial parallelism with the axis of thestai and being twisted to provide a multiplicity of corner working edgeswhich are substantially uniformly spaced longitudinally of theintermediate portions and disposed obliquely relative to the axis of thesaid staff, the said working edges of each element being presentedoutermost more than once in the length of each intermediate portion andadapted when the tool is rotated in the bore of a guide to shear foreignmaterial therefrom.

OSCAR S. TYRRELL.

